Now you’re a fool for helping. “I don’t want to get ” seems to have become a national motto. One summer I was driving from my hometown of Tahoe City, California to New Orleans, Louisiana. In the middle of the desert, I passed a young man standing by the roadside. He had his thumb and held a gas can in his other hand. I drove right by him. There was a time when you’d be called a jerk (混蛋) for passing by somebody _ ___ .
Several days later I was still _ _ about the hitchhiker (搭便车的人), about how I didn’t even lift my foot _ _ the accelerator (加速踏板) for him. “Does anyone stop any more?” I wondered. I Blanche DuBois’s famous line—”I have always depended on the kindness of .” Was that possible these days? One way to this would be for a person to journey across the US without any money, just __ _ _ on the good will of others. What would happen? Would he find food, shelter and support?
The idea intrigued (激起兴趣) me.
The week I turned 37, I realized that I had never done something truly crazy. __ _ _ I decided to really do it: travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic without a penny. I would only accept __ _ of rides, food and places to sleep. For six weeks I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states. I was treated kindly everywhere I went. I was __ _ _ by people’s readiness to help a stranger.
In Oregon, a house painter named Mike __ _ _ the cold weather and asked if I had a coat. I didn’t, so he gave me a big green army-style jacket. A lumber-mill worker in Michigan named Tim invited me to a(n) _ _ _ _ dinner with his family in their shabby house. Then he offered me a tent. I , but Tim insisted, packing it into my bag himself. I found people were generally compassionate. Hearing I had no money and would take none, people bought me food or __ _ _ with them whatever they happened to have. Those who had the _ _ _ _ to give often gave the most.
I’m __ _ _ to all the people I met for their rides, their food, their shelter and their gifts. My faith in ordinary folks was __ _ _. I am proud to live in a country where people are still willing to help. Now about the hitchhiker I met the other day, I am feeling __ _ that I did not stop to take him along .
A.involved B.crazy C.blamed D.rejected
A.away B.in C.over D.out
A.in danger B.in need C.in action D.in favor
A.worrying B.considering C.concerning D.thinking
A.off B.on C.away D.from
A.concluded B.recalled C.polished D.submitted
A.strangers B.relatives C.friends D.colleagues
A.guide B.test C.handle D.conduct
A.basing B.relying C.insisting D.relating
A.But B.So C.And D.However
A.jobs B.supplies C.helps D.offers
A.frightened B.annoyed C.disappointed D.amazed
A.noted B.saw C.felt D.sensed
A.simple B.rich C.awesome D.interesting
A.understood B.refused C.paused D.disobeyed
A.supplied B.offered C.shared D.provided
A.grandest B.most C.least D.best
A.careful B.grateful C.hopeful D.helpful
A.created B.reminded C.renewed D.returned
A.guilty B.sceptical C.delighted D.shallow